Varsity boys finish season with a disappointing loss

A win would have sent the Cardinal varsity baseball team to the CIF playoffs, but it wasn’t meant to be. Santa Paula missed the playoffs by an overtime run in the 8th inning. Malibu forfeited their final game because of an ineligible player on the roster. This left Santa Paula with a shot at the playoffs, but they had to beat Nordhoff, something that eluded the Cardinals all season.The game was tied 11-11 in the 7th inning after 3 Nordhoff runs came in. A Rangers’ double in the 8th gave them the winning run. Both teams scored runs in every inning except the 4th, where there were no runs from either side.Albert Carrillo and Jesus Diaz both went 3-5 and scored 2 runs apiece. Diaz also had an RBI. Blake Cowen was 3-6 with 3 runs. Bobby Benavides went 2-3 with 1 run and 1 RBI. Johnny Carrillo was 2-5 for the day and had 3 RBIs. Andrew Burboa was 1-5 with 2 runs. Robert Perez was 1-5 and had 1 run.